As a home care patient, you have the right to be informed of your rights and responsibilities before the initiation of care/service. when a patient has been judged incompetent, the patient's family or guardian may exercise these rights as described below as they relate to:

What is Hospice

There are many misconceptions about hospice, not the least of which is that hospice is a place where people go to die.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Hospice is not a place, but an idea.

Hospice care is palliative medicine, a medical approach designed to improve the quality of life for dying patients and to help their families cope with situation. Usually, the patient has a limited life expectancy of less than a year.

The focus of hospice care is on meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the individual, while fostering the highest quality of life possible.

Most hospice care is provided in the patient’s home. However, it may take place in a personal care residence, an assisted living facility or a nursing home. It can also be administered at a hospice/palliative care area within a medical facility. The hospice goal is to care for the patient where they live or are most comfortable.

Requesting hospice care may be the first time that individuals, or their families, acknowledge that their condition is not treatable. And while never giving up hope, it helps them deal with the reality of, and transition to, the end of life. It’s important to recognize the emotional journey in dealing with these issues and why it’s preferable to begin hospice care well in advance.

The focus of hospice is not on treatment, but on pain and symptom management, comfort measures, acknowledgment, supporting the family, and providing the best quality of life for the time remaining. Hospice functions under the philosophy that although some terminally ill patients may no longer receive treatment, they still require and deserve respect, care and dignity.

A growing number of Houston families are choosing hospice care to ease the transition as a loved one faces the end of life.

Before hospice and palliative care services became widespread in the United States, patients with terminal illnesses were left to deal with the physical pain, financial concerns and family issues on their own.

Hospice use nationwide has been steadily increasing since 1983, when a benefit covering comprehensive end-of-life care was added to Medicare. In Texas, hospice care is also covered by Medicaid. Many private insurance programs pay for the services as well.